The Real Deal New York

No shortage of NYC real estate execs on Forbes richest people list

Forbes is out with its annual list of the 400 richest people in America, and some of New York City’s real estate players saw their fortunes grow significantly since last year.

One thing that remained consistent this year: The city’s real estate heavyweights were left punching above their weight in one-on-one comparisons with former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The ex-city boss is sitting pretty at No. 8 with $35 billion, up two spots and roughly $4 billion richer since last year.

Stephen Schwarzman, CEO and chairman of private equity firm Blackstone Group, once again topped the list of New York City’s real estate royalty. He clocked in at no. 42 overall with a $10.6 billion fortune, up from $7.7 billion in 2013 and just more than double his net worth two years ago.

Blackstone’s global head of real estate Jonathan Gray also cracked into the list this year with $1.6 billion.

Real estate investor Leonard Stern tacked on about another billion to his personal wealth, climbing more than 20 spots to break into the top 100 with a fortune of $4.9 billion.

Donald Trump and Jerry Speyer of Tishman Speyer once again came in neck and neck. The two are worth $4 billion this year, versus $3.5 billion in 2013 by Forbes’s measure – though the Trump Organization might insist the magazine is low-balling, as it has claimed in the past.

Sheldon Solow fell behind in the rankings – from no. 134 to no. 151 – though his riches grew slightly to $3.6 billion from $3.5 billion.

Retail investor Jeff Sutton saw a big leap from his debut on the list last year at no. 273 to the no. 190 slot. His fortune grew from $2 billion in 2013 to $3 billion this year.

And the godfather of Dumbo development, David Walentas, debuted at no. 368 this year with a net worth of $1.7 billion. [Forbes] — Tom DiChristopher